Eastlake OL sets some plans

Scott Eklund

02/22/2007

It's a banner year for lineman in the Evergreen State and one of the best is Eastlake OL Drew Schaefer. The young man from Sammamish, Wa. has been hitting the weights hard this offseason and he's seen his recruitment pick up plenty since the end of his junior season. Now he's poised to be one of the most sought-after prospects in what promises to be one of the best classes in state history.

"I've been working out really hard," Schaefer told Dawgman.com. "I'm up to 270 already and I think I'll be able to play this fall somewhere around 290 or so. That's the plan anyway."

Schaefer exploded onto the Kingco 4A scene as a sophomore offensive lineman for the Wolves in 2005, earning 2nd Team All-league honors in one of the best leagues in the region.

This past season, Schaefer again earned 1st Team honors along the offensive line as well as on the defensive line and several top programs have taken notice.

"I get letters from all of the schools in the Pac 10 and I'm hearing from Notre Dame and Michigan as well," Schaefer said. "There are other schools that have sent me letters as well, but I can't really remember all of them off the top of my head."

Schaefer has begun to make some plans for the spring and plans to attend Washington's "Junior Day" festivities on March 3rd.

"I know a lot about the Huskies because I went to a bunch of their games last year and Taylor (Lappano) and I are pretty close," Schaefer said about Washington offensive coordinator Tim Lappano's son who is his teammate and friend. "We work out over at their house all the time. We push each other and that has helped me to improve myself as well."

Schaefer said he also plans to attend Oregon's "Junior Day" on April 28th (the date of the Ducks' spring football scrimmage) and he'll be in Eugene for the NIKE camp as well.

"As far as camps, I know I'm going to Washington and Oregon's for sure and I may hit the Washington State one as well," Schaefer said. "I was at (WSU's) camp last year and it was pretty fun so I might go over there for a day, but I'm not sure."

Schaefer doesn't have any offers yet, but he said as soon as his film gets out he hopes to get some rolling in shortly after that.

"There are a couple of schools who seem really interested and I just finished my film up today (Wednesday) and we're going to send it out to a bunch and see what happens," Schaefer said. "I know it's really early so I'm not too worried about it.

"I'm just looking forward to seeing what's out there and getting a feel for what fits me best."

We'll have more from Schaefer after his visit to Montlake early next month and as the recruiting season picks up.